We don't care about your sexuality, we care about your skills, says senior Royal Marine
A senior Royal Marine has said the Armed Forces do not care about sexuality, they care about the skills personnel can deliver.
Lieutenant General Sir Charlie Stickland, Chief of Joint Operations, was a judge at this year's LGBTQ+ Defence Awards and presented the award to Veteran of the Year.
Speaking to BFBS Radio at the event, he said the Armed Forces are good at "actually thinking about what they deliver".
"We're an output-based organisation," he said. "I use the example of a young Royal Marine sniper who is concerned about his sexuality, he may not judge the windage on the shot that he's playing.
"If he's accepted, people will know him for his skills, then actually he'll be comfy, he'll be accepted because he'll be accepted for who he is and the professional output.
"The thing that makes the services so cool is we're output-based, we're not interested in your sexuality, your religion, whatever.
"We're interested in your skills and I think that's a powerful thing that people need to understand."
Speaking about the event itself, he said it was extremely important as it is not just "a celebration, but a recognition of amazing people doing amazing things".
"I was massively privileged to be a judge and reading the citations that everybody wrote about these fabulous veterans, who've just been trying to drive forward the cause of LGBTQ+, was amazing," he said.
"People were crying, people were arguing, because they were so good."
Lt Gen Sir Charlie's role sees him directing and overseeing Standing Joint Force HQ, Joint Force HQ and the Standing Joint Force Logistics Command.
This means he is responsible for planning, executing and integrating UK-led joint and multinational overseas military operations, as well as commanding UK Forces assigned to multinational operations led by others.
He also provides policy-aware military advice to the MOD.
The awards come after military charity Fighting With Pride delivered an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for the Government to revise the compensation on offer for those veterans affected by the LGBT ban.
Craig Jones from Fighting With Pride told BFBS Forces News that the amount is nowhere near what veterans deserve.
"When we look at the impact upon their lives, which has lasted for decades, the levels of financial impoverishment and the hurt that people have felt, both at the time of their arrest and today, then this should be six-figure sums for those most affected without any shadow of a doubt," he said.
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